A Man
by deathrosekitty
Summary: Underneath it all he was just a man. MayuriOrihime


**I don't own Bleach. Blehhhhh**

_Underneath it all he was just a man. MayuriOrihime_

**A Man**

Orihime gave an awkward smile and raised her hand to wave as Captain Kurotsuchi went by. She ended up patting down her hair instead. His eyes met hers once as he continued walking with his artificial daughter, Nemu but it was enough.

He had acknowledged her, hadn't he?

Being such a kind, outgoing girl Orihime often ended up in situations that were dangerous or she didn't understand. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was often thought of to her as neither, but he was in reality both.

She didn't understand how he could create something in a matter of minutes that took her world decades or centuries. He scared her sometimes when his gaze lingered too long on her hair decorations or gave her a once over while she used her abilities.

Orihime ignored the fear and confusion as she often did to embrace the simple things.

She noticed that he hated onions and didn't so much care for the people on his team, but as much as he explained what he could do to the other Captains, he never lifted a hand to actually do it. He also never wasted a moment explaining a question she had. Yet he had to use smaller words as if he was explaining everything to a small child. He never made her feel stupid while he was talking.

He had no sense of personal boundaries. An innocent inquiry from Orihime, an admittance of never dissecting anything and a moment later Mayuri had grabbed her arm. He pulled her in front of him; leveling the scalpel he guided her arm into cutting the small body in front of them.

Mayuri also guided her hands to pull organs out with another tool. At first all she had noticed was his body pressed against hers, but as she learned she didn't notice his guiding hand anymore until she was done with the task and had automatically glanced over her shoulder to him.

They had kissed then.

It was so innocent and seemed so unlike him, Orihime was sure she was the one who pressed her lips to his first. She shot out of the Research Department faster than she had ever run before.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's lips still imprinted on her own. Her heart beating faster than it should have.

She couldn't avoid him for long. She was too close to Nemu and Nemu often was somewhere inside the Research Department and could be impossible to find if she didn't have Mayuri's reluctant help some of the time.

"Um… Hello Captain Kurotsuchi. Do you happen to know where Nemu is?" Orihime stumbled in her wording as she faced the scientist. His eyes searched her.

The healer automatically covered her mouth with a finger. She didn't even realize she was doing it, but she saw his eyes move in that direction so she dropped her hand. Orihime tried to cover her thoughts and emotions all running around wild, but Mayuri was a scientist who noticed everything around him.

"I better go; I just remembered we were supposed to have a meeting today!"

_How could I forget about that? _Orihime wondered as she pressed a hand to her heart. All this time of trying to avoid this particular person went out the window. A brief thought of acting normal started to form a plan in her head.

XXX

"Why are we going to the Research Department, Nemu?" Orihime fluttered as the quiet girl led the way deeper inside.

"There is an experiment that I have to complete."

Nemu left her after trying to give her some comfort that if she stayed out of her "father's" way that no harm could possibly come to her. Orihime shuffled nervously by herself.

"Are you here to find Nemu again?"

His voice made her jump. A squeak popped out of her mouth before she got herself under control. "No! No, I'm just waiting for Nemu. She said she had an experiment to finish."

Mayuri's odd colored eyes regarded her. He stepped away to go to one of the tables and work. She watched his back for awhile. The flick of his wrists... His steady hands…

Orihime was stepping up to him before she realized she wanted to see his face as he worked.

"Can I sit by you?" It was a silly question, since he was standing, but he didn't tell her no.

She sat forward on the stool with her hands holding her head up as she watched his hands move as well as his facial expressions. Mayuri wasn't as expressive as most people, but little moments here and there his face shifted before she could get a read on the emotion it was gone.

"What do you think of me?"

It was such an odd question. Certainly something Mayuri Kurotsuchi would never contemplate or care about. Orihime answered nonetheless.

"You're an amazing scientist…"

He silenced what was most likely going to be a rambling explanation with a kiss. He kissed her. She didn't move away.

Everything unraveled between them sometime after that.

They tended not to talk about emotions. Most of their relationship was physical. Any conversations was her questioning 'what was this' or 'what did that do' about his work. When they were alone together they were unclothed. Doing naughty things that Orihime never thought he'd have the mind to do.

After all, wasn't his mind dedicated to science?

Two years had gone by without them getting caught. As it neared the third year a strange thing started happening. Mayuri had started to linger more after they were done. He waited longer to start things between them.

Orihime hadn't noticed what she had. That she was pregnant.

A talk was coming between them, but she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know how he felt or what he wanted. She wanted even less to have him know what she knew.

She loved him. She wanted more from him. Orihime didn't want to lose him, so she took what she could get, but how could she tie him down with something he probably wasn't interested in. The last thing you think about when you think of Mayuri Kurotsuchi was a family man. A married man.

They were having a party for her at the Soul Society. Her pregnancy couldn't be hidden anymore and since she refused to say who it was they had decided to take care of her and the baby as a group instead of bullying the baby's father.

Some of them weren't there because they weren't close to her or didn't care. Orihime wasn't surprised, but her closest friends offered her love and support in their own ways and that was what mattered.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was waiting outside the party.

"What do you think of me?"

Orihime was surprised by this question once again. Why was he always doing things so out of character with her?

"You're a man who…"

He walked off. He never waited for her to finish what she was going to say. Orihime put on a bright face she didn't feel and tried to enjoy the party. It was hours later that Mayuri had come inside with no face and body paint on.

Everything seemed to stop as everyone gaped at him. Mayuri didn't stop. He took off his head piece and flung it somewhere.

Orihime thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head at this bizarre occurrence. He reached her and grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her in the way they had when they were alone.

She sat down on one of the benches as some of the men got up. No one seemed to know how to feel or what to do.

"Marry me."

"What?" Orihime gasped.

"You're pregnant with my child. The only logical and culturally accepted route is to marry me."

People were talking now. Ichigo and Uryu were starting to shout at Mayuri. He had just dropped bombs as if they were nothing but flowers. Like pregnancy and marriage was nothing but deciding whether or not to turn right or left when lost.

Orihime tried to think things through. "A child is no reason to get married."

He watched her. "Don't tell me you're going to say something as ignorant as love is the only reason to get married. You wouldn't refuse me either way."

Mayuri knew she fell in love with him! How long did he know? She never said it. She always tried to hide it. Orihime put a hand to her stomach.

"If you don't accept my offer I can always take the child away when it's born."

He continued to explain what he could do, so quickly Orihime admitted.

"I want to marry you!"

She was beyond embarrassed and it seemed like her friends couldn't figure out what to do or how to protect her since her shout gave them no reason to protect her.

"I want to marry you…" Orihime said again. She was so quiet she's not sure he heard.

Mayuri grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the party. He led her towards his living quarters. On the way he started to explain that it would be appropriate to call him Mayuri now. He explained other things to her about how their relationship was going to work and that if she wanted to negotiate she had better speak up right now or never.

Happiness was growing through Orihime. She couldn't stop smiling, even as Mayuri scolded her for not paying attention. She realized now what she had always observed when watching him.

She knew the emotions that grazed his face as he worked. Frustration, amusement, anger, boredom, happiness…

She could put her finger on the reason he lingered when he figured out she was pregnant before she knew. Mayuri wasn't one to do anything he didn't want to. Affection wasn't something he needed or wanted, but he had given it freely when she was worried or upset.

All of the situations that seemed so out of character came into some perspective to her.

Underneath the scientist he was a man.

And even though a scientist was supposed to be unbiased a man was nothing but biased, he had opinions about women, politics and everything in between. And those opinions weren't usually based on science.

Orihime found the man underneath the scientist. Mayuri was a man she didn't want to let go of.

**This one is a little odd. I have no clue how it turned out so hopefully it's not that bad and it does explain why Mayuri seemed so strange in some areas. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I had been reading up on Mayuri and I guess his offer to Orihime was one he never had made to any other 'experiment' and I wanted a lighter tone of fic where they actually got together. **

**Read and Review.**


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